1997 Villanova Wildcats football team

American college football season

1997 Villanova Wildcats football
A-10 champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 34–37 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 1
Record	12–1 (8–0 A-10)
Head coach	Andy Talley (13th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dave Clawson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Shoop (1st season)
Captains	Josh Dolbin Derek Forgione
Home stadium	Villanova Stadium
Seasons← 1996 1998 →

1997 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
New England Division
New Hampshire x	5	–	3	5	–	6
Connecticut	4	–	4	7	–	4
Maine	4	–	4	5	–	6
Rhode Island	2	–	6	2	–	9
Boston University	1	–	7	1	–	10
UMass	1	–	7	2	–	9
Mid-Atlantic Division
No. 1 Villanova x$^	8	–	0	12	–	1
No. 3 Delaware ^	7	–	1	12	–	2
No. 20 Northeastern	5	–	3	8	–	3
Richmond	4	–	4	6	–	5
William & Mary	4	–	4	7	–	4
James Madison	3	–	5	5	–	6

$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 Villanova Wildcats football team represented Villanova University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the program's 100th season and they finished as Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) champions after posting a perfect 8–0 record in conference play. The Wildcats earned a berth as the #1 seed into the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual national champion Youngstown State, 34–37. Villanova was led by 13th-year head coach Andy Talley. Villanova finished the year ranked #1 in the nation according to The Sports Network's final poll, which was released prior to the playoffs starting.

Among the many postseason awards received, coach Talley was honored as the AFCA Coach of the Year and Eddie Robinson Award winner for being the Division I-AA national coach of the year. Senior wide receiver Brian Finneran received the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the nation's top offensive player.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28		No. 18 (D-II) West Chester*		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 64–0
September 13		at No. 6 Delaware	No. 19	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)		W 35–25
September 20		Maine	No. 10	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 34–14
October 4		No. 22 James Madison	No. 4	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 49–17	7,631
October 11	1:00 p.m.	UMass	No. 3	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	NESN	W 49–27	7,109
October 18		at Richmond	No. 3	UR Stadium Richmond, VA		W 40–29	6,240
October 25		at No. 14 William & Mary	No. 1	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA		W 20–13	10,559
November 1		at Rhode Island	No. 1	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI		W 37–15
November 8		New Hampshire	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 23–20
November 15	1:00 p.m.	Buffalo*	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 42–28	6,831
November 22		No. 20 Northeastern	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA		W 49–35
November 29		Colgate*	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		W 49–28	8,875
December 6	12:00 p.m.	No. 4 Youngstown State*	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)		L 34–37	7,591
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1997 Villanova Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`29`	Brad Finneran	Sr
WR	`25`	Brian Finneran	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Andy Talley

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Awards and honors

Walter Payton Award – Brian Finneran
First Team All-America – Chris Boden (Walter Camp); Brian Finneran (Associated Press, The Sports Network, AFCA, Walter Camp)
First Team All-Atlantic 10 – Chris Boden, Brian Finneran, Jason Tenner
Second Team All-Atlantic 10 – George Freiberger, Mark Kiefer
Third Team All-Atlantic 10 – Josh Dolbin, Ryan Knight, Shaun Lyons, Chris Machovina, Mitch McCrimmon, Shannon Riley
AFCA Coach of the Year Award – Andy Talley
Eddie Robinson Award – Andy Talley
Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year – Andy Talley

References

^ "1997 Villanova Wildcats football results". College Football Data Warehouse. William Goodyear. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
^ "2018 Villanova Wildcats Football Media Guide". villanova.edu. Villanova University. 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
"Villanova lights up UMaine". The Bangor Daily News. September 22, 1997. p. 19. Retrieved April 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"Finneran rewrites record book as 'Nova rolls to win". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 5, 1997. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"'Nova stops Richmond, 40–29, on a banner day for Boden". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 19, 1997. Retrieved November 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
Juliano, Joe (November 30, 1997). "Villanova's Strong Finish Eliminates Colgate, 49-28". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. C6 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Villanova Wildcats football
Venues	Shibe Park (1925–1926, 1936–1949, 1951, 1953) Villanova Stadium (1927–present) Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (1930, 1953–1957) Franklin Field (1948–1950, 1952–1953) Subaru Park (alternate; 2011–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Delaware: Battle of the Blue Temple: Mayor's Cup
Culture & lore	Will D. Cat "V for Villanova"
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Atlantic 10 Conference football champions
Villanova (1997) Richmond (1998) James Madison & UMass (1999) Delaware & Richmond (2000) Hofstra, Maine, Villanova, & William & Mary (2001) Maine & Northeastern (2002) Delaware & UMass (2003) Delaware, James Madison, & William & Mary (2004) New Hampshire & Richmond (2005) UMass (2006)
National championships in bold

v t e 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football playoff participants
Colgate Delaware Eastern Kentucky Eastern Washington Florida A&M Georgia Southern Hampton Hofstra Jackson State McNeese State Montana Northwestern State Villanova Western Illinois Western Kentucky Youngstown State
Champion – Youngstown State Penguins

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